Improvement in lumber-driers



' rH.4 S. TAY LOB.

Lumber-Briers.

Patented Jan. 12, 1875.

@KQ/ivm .THE GRAPHIC CQPHQT-LITHJBS 4x PARK PLAcNNJW v UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

HARRYL S. TAYLOR, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE.

IMPROVEMENT 1N LuMBER-DRIERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N o. 158,753, dated January12, 1875; application filed i July 30, 1874'.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY S. TAYLOR, of Wilmington, in the county of NewOastle and State of Delaware, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Lumber-Driers, of which lthe following is a specication:

This invention relates to that class of lumber-driers in which thelumber is placed within a chamber or building and heated air isintroduced for drying the same; and the object of the invention is tofurnishan effective means of drying the lumber, whereby7 all danger ofthe same becoming cracked or warped during the drying process isavoided.

This invention relates to certain apparatus for drying lumber; and itconsists of certain im provements,which are hereinafter described, andpointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 represents a front view of thehot-air cham ber and the drying-chamber, showing the hotair and steamconducting pipe. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectionof the h'ot-air chamberand furnace and drying-chamber, and Figs. 3 and 4 are detached sectionalviews of the furnace and drying-chamber.

Referring to the drawings, the letter A represents the outsidebrick-work or structure of the hot-air chamber and furnace; B, the

iiue or chimney, and O an arched partition,

dividing the furnace into an upper and a lower compartment, and in thelatter is arranged the grate a, upon which lthe fire is built, and theupper compartment is used for the hot-air chamber. The front end of theair-chamber is provided with suitable valves or openings, b, for theadmission of the air to be heated. The side wall of the air-chamber isprovided with an opening, c, into which one end of the steam and airconducting pipe D is placed, said pipe extending to the drying chamberor house E, and projecting within the same, where it is provided withperforations, or laterally projecting tubular extensions, d, forspraying the steam and air among the lumber. The said pipe D is providedwith an enlarged chamber, D', Within which is arranged a fan or blower,F, which is operated by suitable means, and serves to draw the heatedair and steam from the hot- ?)irchamber and force it into thedrying-cham- In order to supply the hot-air chamber with a supplyofsteam, which commingles with the air in said hot-air chamber,'Iprovide a pipe, G, leading from the latter to a suitable steam generatoror boiler, and by which the steam is conveyed to the hot-air chamber.

In order to utilize the hot air I connect the top of the drying-chamberE with thehot-air chamber by means of a pipe, H, by 'which means theheated air, after having been used in the drying-chamber, rises andpasses through said pipe back to the hot-air chamber, where it can beused again.

From the above description it will be seen that the hot air and steamare commingled together, and forced through the passage into thelumber-drying chamber by means of a fan or blower, by which means thelumber is kept sufficiently moist by the steam to prevent the hot airfrom cracking' or warping the same while drying it.

The lumber is dried very rapidly by the above process, and with the sameefect that a Warm spring wind has on air-dried lumber, and is far moreexpeditious.

The lumber is conveyed into the dryingchamber by means of wheeledvehicles, or it may be simply laid in said chamber; but the vehicle willbe the most expeditious, as much time is saved in moving the lumber.

I have found that hot air alone will not answer the object sought, as itcracks and warps the lumber, which objection is overcome by theemployment of the steam to moisten it while it is being dried.

I claim as my invention- The combination of the hot-air chamber O,arranged directly above the furnace, the pipe G, communicating with saidchamber and with a steam-generator, and the pipe D, provided with afan-blower, and connected with a removed or separate drying chamber, forconveying the commingled and intermixed hot air and steam into thelatter, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

HARRY S. TAYLOR.

Witnesses:

HENRY B. MoERoW, ALBERT W. SMITH.

